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Sunday, March 06, 2011

Easy vegetarian snacks: roasted chickpeas

An acquaintance of mine brought to my attention the wonderful world of roasted chickpeas. Imagine roasted peanuts but made with chickpeas. Less calories, and just as versatile. I tried it for the first time last Friday by roasting a batch made from canned chickpeas. I seasoned them lightly with olive oil, smoked paprika, garlic and onion powder at 350F for 45 minutes. The result was a crunchy, flavorful peanut like snack. I ate the whole thing in one sitting. Let's just say I wasn't hungry for the rest of the day!

I'm making a batch today with dried chickpeas which I soaked overnight and simmered this morning for 90 minutes with water, 1 whole onion, 1 dried smoked pepper and bay leaf. Cooking any bean with seasonings will impart flavor deep inside the bean.

I then took 2 cups of the cooked and drained beans and drizzled sunflower oil - enough to coat and hot curry powder. It's now roasting away in the stove.

For flavors, the sky is the limit. Think of these like chips. If you like barbecue flavor, smoked paprika, cumin, salt and pepper are your friend. Just experiment!

I love this recipe! I have been making it every week. I love to buy the pre-packaged spices available at my local Indian restaurant. They are so crispy and keep great in the fridge. This is a great vegan/vegetarian find!